Aroma Festival ‘09 – The Rocks, Sydney
I wonder how one becomes the face of Aroma Fest…? Must enjoy her coffee very very very much eh 
; Hee hee See the Red Balloon?; I cry for the little kid (I assume) that dropped their marshmallow 
Ahhh the fragrant aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafts in the crisp cool winter air, the lively chatter and footsteps of thousands resound from the ground and the sun shines her warming rays onto our morning faces. Aroma Festival ‘09 was already well underway by the time we made it but there was still a long day ahead to browse and peruse every stall there is at The Rocks. I may love the smell of coffee but I do not drink much of it anymore since my phase in HS but there were still plenty of stalls to keep me occupied… especially food and CHOCOLATE!! I did go a little bit trigger happy so I’ll let the photos do most of the talking so please enjoy ^^!
We started off in The Latin Quarter near Circular Quay and went around in a large loop to try and cover as much as possible. There were some very lively, spicy samba music in the background while we looked around the stalls of cookies, coffee and chocolates.
Coming across the Jack Thompson stall of spicy sauces and some BBQ sauces, the man himself was there! The honey mustard BBQ was my type of sauce, slightly sweet with the tang of mustard and BBQ in retrospect.
Next stop was Your Nuts…. hmm that didn’t quite come out right Assorted nuts (can choose between almond, peanuts and macadamia nuts) are slow roasted and caramelized to form a crunchy sugary coat outside. It is good and bad how you can just munch on these sugary treats all day long *munch munch munch*
We had spotted Sparkle Cupcakery before at Taste of Sydney and we actually saw the drag-queen but this time, unfortunately, we did not.
I cannot refuse a good sugary donut and Big Lou’s sure hit the spot. Freshly fried and tossed around in the sugar bowl for maximum coating ^^!
The first bite did leave me a bit confounded as to where the jam was but the second bite revealed the sticky and sweet jam. The dough was light and fluffy which contrasted beautifully with the jam as well as the sugar crystals which burst with sweetness when crunched upon.
Just look at the masses!; Giant equal teacup hee hee; and the Opera House sure looks prettier on a beautiful sunny day
Munching upon the donut had lead me to The Continent section of the festival without even realising it. The band was taking a break but they had a flambouyantly decorated open trailer as their stage called Lolo.
The rising smoke of a BBQ had me crashing through the crowd to take a look at what was on offer. Everything we looked at before were all sweet so I was more than ready for a good dose of savouryness and in BBQ form, even better ^^! Pony were serving up a selection of 4 different dishes – Tasmanian Salmon, Chicken, Lamb and Steak. I had decided on the lamb but at the last second I somehow managed to order the steak with chips instead haha. This was also where my brief encounter with Ooh Look… took place. I was surprised at the number of dslrs at the festival though! Sooo many people taking photos I felt right in place haha!
A good serving of mustard on the steak and it was good to go mmmm. The chips were surprisingly crispy and crunchy with appropriate seasoning while the steak was tender and tasty although leaning to the tougher side. It was still a well needed protein fix but immediately after it was back to the sweets ^^!
Strawberries and chocolate are still a marriage made in heaven XD
Hee hee look at the teeny tiny little bite in the coconut white choc straberry.
The chocolate-coated strawberries were very refreshing and I really realy loved the crack of the chocolate with each bite. The strawberries were very lush indeed and weren’t too sweet which complemented the chocolate very well in my opinion.
All the sweet foods were making us thirsty and nothing is better at thirst quenching than a hot chocolate right 
? The Voodoo hot chocolate was just perfect with just the right consistency to be beautifully velvety and smooth but also thick and rich with flavour. The huge marshmallow on top melted and formed a foamy puddle in the hot chocolate which just made it even better.
Hee hee spotted these two serenading to the lucky lady
Adora Chocolate pops which are fast and easy way to make hot chocolate fountain at I Love my Chocolates… mmmm so glossy and mesmerizing!
Around to The Orient where there were relaxing steps to just take a load off for a little while and enjoy cups of hot chocoalte and some other snacks. The water is sparkly 
I didn’t actually end up going to The Oasis section under the bridge so I missed out on pictures of the camel and stalls on that side
One of my favourites buys of the day was definitely Stay-Puft Gingerbread version from the Italian Gingerbread and Sweets stall. He was enjoy the nice scenery of the Harbour Bridge when suddenly he was attacked and had a chunk of his head taken out of him O_o! Oh the humanity!! >_< but ooohh soo tastyyy mmm the firm but soft gingerbread was sweet with honey had just enough ginger to make it tasty without overpowering. I also love his love handles
More chocolate-dipped strawberries at Flower Fruits and they had arranged an amazing bouquet of the strawberries! I so want onnnnee!
Large cupcake at The Cupcake Bakery and can see a whole wall lined with them at their store under Myer in the city; Hee hee cupcake cutlery is always cute ^^!
I have been going through a Chai phase recently so this stall was very welcoming. The smell of Chai is just so aromatic mmm ^^!; And my favourite shot which was a bit of a fluke haha Awesome model = timmeh
Moving back down along George St, I think more savoury was required! The Kransky made a good snack with it grilled to a beautifully slight char and crispy skin while the meat inside was hot and juicy. The bun was very soft, just the way I like it but like most other places there was a queue which took me about 15mins.
Right outside Lowenbrau was The Lowenbrau stall hee hee. I didn’t end up joining this queue as it was much longer…
We ended up at the Gozleme line instead which was all the way across the road so I still ended up waiting for food anyway haha. We had chicken and beef and all agreed that the beef was better. The overall quality seemed a bit rushed compared to their norm so it was not as good but still quite tasty.
This awesome Spanish Guitarist was very pro! I really should had gotten a cd but… I needed to save money for food XD Next time I will buy a cd! I also heard him play a beautiful rendition of ‘Sakura’!
Hee hee Pavlova girl posing for the photo 
(literally ) The pavlova here were gorgeous with a slight crust but the insides were so soft and fluffy it was magical! Both the chocolate and berry flavour and the mango and passionfruit were very good but the chocolate and berry was slightly better hee hee.
Hee hee Yukk coffee; Nana Mays magic hands O_o?; The guy counting the number of people going up and down the steps!
We made our loop and ended up back at The Latin Quarter where we decided to go out with a final cup of coffee/hot chocolate. We joined the Mayan Xocolat queue as I had tried their hot chococlate before at Good Food Affare and it was very nice. We were very disappointed about the wait which ended up being near around 40mins? and the hot chocolates we got then were cold :S They gave us replacements but they were not as good as the first time I had them. But all was not a loss as they did supply the only chocolate-coated coffee beans we could find at the festival!
All in all it was a great festival and all the fooding and chocolateing had taken its toll on me. So off home with all the goodies we went ^^!… Until next year!
Aroma Festival
The Rocks
FFichiban
August 6th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Great pictures and good food! What a day!
August 6th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
When I saw someone taking photos at the Pony stall, I looked to see if I knew them, and it was you (and Pupu?)! Your photos are all fabulous, and bring back memories of a lovely day out.
August 6th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Whoah so many photos…. like the sound of “spicy samba music” btw, and omg you waited 40min for a hot chocolate!? The Spanish guitarist is usually at Pyrmont Growers Markets and Northside Markets too
August 6th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
omg i didn’t realise how much food there was! i thought it would be all coffee so i didn’t even consider going! i’ve missed out baaad
August 6th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
great photos bro! that’s the same guy that made our mayan hot choc’s
August 6th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Wow mammoth post! LOL at Yukk coffee and Your Nuts and the pavlova girl! God I love those pics of the jam donut. I used to be obsessed with Herbert Adams Jam donuts as a kid!
August 6th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Woohoo it was definitely one of greatest days for a coffee addict! I sort of expected that I might ran into you and other bloggers, but I didn’t at all.
That gingerbread looks soooo Ghooooostbusteeeeeeeerrs! (You have to sing as you read.)
August 7th, 2009 at 12:11 am
I adore your photos! That gingerbread man is just the cutest thing ever!
August 7th, 2009 at 12:30 am
really hope to visit next year.
August 7th, 2009 at 1:53 am
Ellie – Thhx ^^! Did you go?
Belle – Haha good eyes! There were sooo many dslrs tho!
Helen – Haha not as many as your Bankstown one!Yeah that was a looonng wait.. everyone in line was restless but we did have some jazz to keep us occupied. Oh thx gotta stalk him down
K – Oh nooesss make sure you go next year then!
D – Yeah man too bad you couldn’t make it
Lorraine – Hee hee thhxx yeah took me a while to filter and process photos. Oooh never heard of Herbert Adams jam donuts before… I bet I am missing out! *googles*
Yas – Haha yeah I was expecting to too but alas only spotted Belle and that was too brief haha
Y – Hee hee yeah it was hard to eat him but his taste>cuteness hee hee
Simon Food Fav – Yes go for it!
August 7th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Ahh I’m sad I missed out of this because there were so many cupcakes and mmm jam donuts! But I wasn’t a big coffee person so that was why I was hesistant. Looks like you had so much food!
August 7th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Oh sadness! I was overseas for the festival (actually, not so sadness) but really enjoyed it last year despite being a strictly coffee-free person. I think it was the pavalovas that clinched it for me. Mmmm sweet sugary bliss!
August 7th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Mmmm jam doughnuts! I remember having those when I was younger – the first bite wouldn’t reveal much jam and you’d have a moment of panic where you think that tiny dot of jam is all you’re getting, but then you take another bite and it suddenly becomes 3/4 jam and you’re thrilled! Yum!
August 7th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Steph – Ahhh yeah definitely go next year tho ^^!
Shez – The pavalovas were awesommmee! Yeah pity were you away but had lots of good food overseas!
Katie – Mmm I could had downed soo many of themmm! Haha true that!
August 7th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing shots!! What an awesome day – thanks for sharing! Xx
(I regret not getting the gingerbread)
August 7th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Man, talk about mega postage! Surprised that you fit in all that food.
No wait, this is you after all. I take that back…
Wish I wasn’t working on this day. Looks like it would have been a lot of fun.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
They’re in the freezer section of the supermarket. To a 10 year old last century they were the epitome of yum! Actually they probably still are…
August 8th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Debzillah – Thhxx ^^! Ahh pity as the gingerbread man was one of my highlights hee hee so fat and tasty
Are they still in supermarkets? I couldn’t find much on google cept your post on donut cupcakes hee hee 
Simon – Haha thx bro, yeah missed you
Lorraine – Ahh haha how did I miss out then
August 11th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
ohmhygod!!!!!!!!! i think i haven’t said this enough…I MISS SYDNEYYYYYY…T_T